Hello everyone! My name is Leon Festinger but you can call me Codi for short. I was born in 1919 in Brooklyn, NY. I received my Bachelor's in Psychology from the City College of New York in 1939 and proceeded to study at the University of Iowa. I studied under Kurt Lewin, a prominent social psychologist, and received my PhD in 1942. I then went on to teach at numerous academic institutions such as MIT and the New School for Social Research.
My biggest contribution to Psychology is my theory of Cognitive Dissonance. The two basic hypotheses of Cognitive Dissonance are; 1. The existence of dissonance (or inconsistency), being psychologically uncomfortable, will motivate the person to try to reduce the dissonance and achieve consonance (or consistency). 2. When dissonance is present, in addition to trying to reduce it, the person will actively avoid situations and information which would likely increase the dissonance. I found that we as humans strive for internal consistency, when inconsistency, or dissonance, is experienced, we become psychologically distressed. Those whose actions are contradictory to their beliefs, thoughts, or values experience dissonance. People may reduce dissonance by changing their actions, opinions, or selectively acquiring new information or opinions.
Another one of my big contributions to Psychology is my theory on social comparison. Social comparison theory is the belief that there is a drive within people to gain accurate self-evaluations. The theory explains how individuals evaluate their own opinions and abilities by comparing themselves to others in order to reduce uncertainty in these domains.
Many say that without my theories, Social Psychology wouldn't be where it is today. Cognitive dissonance has since spawned years of related research on topics such as decision making, socialization of children and color preference.
Hello everyone! My name is Leon Festinger but you can call me Codi for short. I was born in 1919 in Brooklyn, NY. I received my Bachelor's in Psychology from the City College of New York in 1939 and proceeded to study at the University of Iowa. I studied under Kurt Lewin, a prominent social psychologist, and received my PhD in 1942. I then went on to teach at numerous academic institutions such as MIT and the New School for Social Research.
My biggest contribution to Psychology is my theory of Cognitive Dissonance. The two basic hypotheses of Cognitive Dissonance are; 1. The existence of dissonance (or inconsistency), being psychologically uncomfortable, will motivate the person to try to reduce the dissonance and achieve consonance (or consistency). 2. When dissonance is present, in addition to trying to reduce it, the person will actively avoid situations and information which would likely increase the dissonance. I found that we as humans strive for internal consistency, when inconsistency, or dissonance, is experienced, we become psychologically distressed. Those whose actions are contradictory to their beliefs, thoughts, or values experience dissonance. People may reduce dissonance by changing their actions, opinions, or selectively acquiring new information or opinions.
Another one of my big contributions to Psychology is my theory on social comparison. Social comparison theory is the belief that there is a drive within people to gain accurate self-evaluations. The theory explains how individuals evaluate their own opinions and abilities by comparing themselves to others in order to reduce uncertainty in these domains.
Many say that without my theories, Social Psychology wouldn't be where it is today. Cognitive dissonance has since spawned years of related research on topics such as decision making, socialization of children and color preference.
Sources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leon_Festinger#Cognitive_dissonance
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cognitive_dissonance
http://psychology.about.com/od/cognitivepsychology/f/dissonance.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_comparison_theory